Pedal and panel operating mechanism for musical instruments.



T. P. BROWN.

PEDAL AND PANEL OPERATING MECHANISM FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 22, 1913.

1,100,215, PatentedJune 16,1914/ 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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. ,Byitfiorneys S MW W -T. P. BROWN. PEDAL AND PANEL OPERATING MECHANISM FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. AYPLIGATION FILED MAR. 22, 1913.

1,100,215, I Patented June 16, 1914.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

.. town UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE P. BROWN, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SIMPLEX PLAYER ACTION COLIPANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

PEDAL AND PANEL OPERATING MECHANISM FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

To all whom it may concern Be it'known that I, Tnnononn P. BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vorcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Pedal and Panel Operating Mechanism for Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to mechanism suitable for use on automatic musical instruments by which the folding pedals can be moved into and out of the casing and the lower doors or panels opened and closed by a single operating handle located conveniently under the key bed; also to an improved pedal operating mechanism and improved door or panel operating mechanism suitable for use in connection with each other or separately.

The invention also involves improvements in details of construction and combinations of parts as will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of the lower portion of the case of an automatic player piano showing the pedals out in operative position and the panels or doors open and with part of the front wallof the case re moved to'show interior construction; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the pedals folded up into the case; Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the door or. panels closed in front of the pedals; Fig. 4 is a side elevation partly in section on enlarged scale showing the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are side views on enlarged scale (partly in section) of the operating rod for the pedals and panels showing it in the three positions in which it appears in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 respectively, and Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

The invention is shown as applied to a musical instrument comprising a case 10, key-bed 11, and bellows 12 of ordinary construction. The movable leaves 13 of the bellows are connected by links 14 with the pedals 15 which are also pivotally connected at the bottom with links 16 fixed on an OS- cillatable rod 17. This rod is provided with a gear or pinion 18 meshing with a gear 19 which is provided with an arm 26 fixed with respect to the gear. This arm is pivotally Specification of Letters Patent. 6

Application filed March 22; 1913.

Patented June 16, 1914. Serial No. 756,078.

connected with a link 21 extending up back of the bellows. This is provided with a head 22 which is adj ustably mounted on the end of the link 21. On the head is a bolt 23 provided with a nut 24. This bolt extends through a slot 25 in an arm 26 fixed to an oscillatable rod or shaft 27 mounted in bearings 28 under the key-bed 11. The arm 26 and slot 25 are radial and permit a certain amount of motion between the bolt and the arm.

The shaft 27 is provided with a handle 30 at the front end for turning it in its bearings 28. Also at a point just inside the case it is provided with a hub 31 fixed to the shaft and having a disk or plate 32 provided with a pin 33 projecting from the face thereof. Freely mounted on the shaft is another hub 34 having a disk or plate 35 facing the plate 32. A compressible spring 36 surrounds the shaft 27 between the hub 34 and a collar 37 fixed on the shaft to normally press the plate 35 toward the plate 32. The plate 35 is provided with a socket 38 for receiving the pin 33 when these two parts register, and it is also provided with a notch 39 having a slanting cam surface 40 at the end thereof. Extending down from the key bed is a fixed pin 41 adapted to enter the notch 39. Fixed on the plate 35 is an arm 43. This armis pivotally connected with a link 44 which in turn is connectedwith the sliding panel or door 45. This is shown as being supported by rollers 46 on a track 47 just inside the case. The door or panel and the pedals are operated solely from the handle 30.

In the position shown in Figs. 1, 4, 5 and 8 the handle is horizontal, the panel is open, and the pedals are out in position for playing. At this time the fiat right-hand surface of the plate 35 is in contact with the pins 33 and 41. Consequently it is held back against the spring 36 out of contact with the plate 32, and the first motion of the handle 30 downwardly in Fig. 1 has no effect upon the plate 35, link 43, and sliding panel 45. However it turns the arm 26 from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 5 to that shown in Figs. 2 and 6, thus raising the link 21 and turning the gear 20. This rotates the pinion 18, turns the shaft 17, and

swings the pedals up into the casing. The

operator, continuing the swinging motion of the handle 30 from a vertical downward position to a horizontal position at the left as appears in Figs. 3 and 7, causes the arm 26 to swing out from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3, which on account of the slot 25 has no further turning effect on the gear 19 or the pedals. During the turning motion, and as the handle comes to the vertical position shown in Fig. 2, the plate 32 comes to a position in which the pin 33registers with the perforation 38 and at the same time the notch 39 registers with the pin 41. Then the spring 36 forces the plate 35 to the right as shown in Fig. 6, and the further rotation of the shaft causes the plate 35 to rotate positively with it. The next effect of this, that is during the motion of the handle 30 from the vertical position shown in Fig. 2 to the horizontal left-hand position shown in Fig. 3, is to swing the arm 43 to the left, thus taking with it the sliding panel 45. The last part of this motion causes the two plates 32 and 35 to swing around in such position that the pin 41 engages the cam surface 40 and forces the plate 35 to the left in opposition to the spring 36. This frees the plate 35 from the pin33 and leaves the panel closed. To open the panel the handle 30 is swung back from horizontal position on the left to horizontal position on the right, which again connects the two plates 32 and 35, swinging the panel back positively, and then operates the pedals to swing them out. It will be seen, therefore, that the entire control of the panel and pedals is secured by the single operating handle 30, and that no operation of the same is required except to swing it through an arc of a half circle. The connection and disconnection of the parts to provide for the motion of the panel while the pedals are not operating, and the motion of the pedals while the panel is not operating, is entirely automatic and requires no care or attention on the part of the operator. At the same time the connections are simple and inexpensive and involve no parts which are likely to get out of order in use or which will require expensive repairs in case of dis arrangement. 7

Although I have illustrated and described only a single form in which the invention is carried out, I am aware of the fact that modifications can be made therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore I do not wish to be limited to all the details of construction herein shown and described, but

What I do claim is 1. The combination with a folding pedal and a link for operating it, of bearings, a transverse rod supported in said bearings and oscillatable on its own axis with the pedal, a gear fixed to said rod, a second gear meshing with said gear on the rod, for operating it and means for oscillating the second gear from the link.

2. The combination with a key board and a folding pedal, of bearings, a rod oscillatable on its own axis in said bearings, the pedal being connected with said rod to turn with it, a-gear fixed to said rod, a second gear meshing with said gear for operating it, an arm fixed with respect to the second gear, a link connected with the arm and extending upwardly in the instrument, and a shaft under the key-bed connected with said link for raising and lowering it to turn the gears. V I 3. The combination with a shaft and a folding pedal connected with said shaft to be moved about with it as the shaft turns, of a gear fixed on the shaft, a gear meshing and having an arm extending therefrom, a link connected with said arm, a horizontal shaft under the key-bed having an arm thereon provided with a radial slot, and a connection between the link and arm passing freely through said radial slot.

4. In a musical instrument, the combination with a set of folding pedals, of a link movable up and down, means connected with said link for swinging the pedals, a horizontal. shaft under the key-bed, an arm on said shaft having a radial slot, means for connectin the link with the arm freely through said s ot, a sliding panel, and means connected with said shaft for sliding the panel as the shaft turns through an arc in which said arm moves from one side of the shaft to the other without raising or lowering the link.

5. In a musical instrument, the combination of an operating shaft, a set of pedals, means loosely connected with said shaft for operating the pedals, a sliding panel, a fixed plate on the shaft, a freely slidable plate on the shaft, said slidable plate being connected with the panel for operating it, and

means for connecting the two plates and disconnecting them automatically during the turning of the shaft through a continuous arc in one direction,

6. In a musical instrument, the combination with an operatin shaft having an arm thereon, a set of peda s, means loosely con nected with said arm for operating the pedals, a sliding panel, and means whereby the turning of the shaft through a continuous arc will first bring said arm into a position to raise the pedals in the instrument and thereafter move said panel to closed position while the pedals are stationary, said means comprising a fixed plate on the shaft, a freely slidable plate on the shaft, said slidable plate being connected with the panel for operating it, and means for connecting the two plates and disconnecting them automatically during the turning of the shaft through a continuous arc in one direction.

7. In a panel operating mechanism for musical instruments the combination with a sliding panel, of an operating shaft therefor, a fixed plate on said operating shaft, a plate slidably mounted on the operating shaft, operating means connected with the slidable plate and with the panel for operating the panel, and means whereby as said shaft is turned through a continuous arc in one direction, the slidable plate will be forced from the plate that is fixed on the shaft, will then be automatically fixed to said plate, and thereafter automatically disconnected therefrom,

8. In a musical instrument, the combination with a sliding panel and levers for operating it, of an oscillatable operating'shaft, a plate slidably mounted on said shaft and fixed to one of said levers, a second plate fixed to said shaft, yielding means for normally forcing the first plate toward. and against the second, means whereby when said plates are in contact they will be positively connected with each other, and means for holding them out of contact with each other during a portion of the oscillation of the shaft.

9. In a musical instrument, the combination with a sliding panel, and a set of levers for operating it, of an oscillatable operating shaft, a plate slidably mounted on said shaft and connected to said operating levers, a second plate fixed on said shaft and having a pin projecting toward the first plate, the first plate having a socket for the reception of said pin, a spring for normally forcing the first plate toward the second, said second plate having a notch therein provided with a cam surface, and a stationary pin on the frame of the instrument for engaging in said notch and holding the first plate away from the second during a portion of the oscillation of said shaft.

10. In a musical instrument, the combination with a sliding panel, and a set of levers for operating it, of an oscillatable operating shaft, a plate slidably mounted on said shaft and connected to said operating levers, a second plate fixed on said shaft and having a pin projecting toward the first plate, the first plate having a socket for the reception of said pin, a spring for normally forcing the first plate toward the second, and means for holding the first plate away from the second during a portion of the oscillation of said shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two subscribing wltnesses.

THEODORE P. BROWN. Witnesses:

ALBERT E. FAY, J. ELMER I'IALL.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained 01 five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

